Doctors at the Trust are the first in the South East to use an innovative ultrasound scanner that combines MRI images to improve the detection of Prostate Cancer.
Mr Steve Garnett Consultant Urologist and Urology team with Uro Nav equipment.
The fusion of detailed MRI scans with live, real-time ultrasound images of the prostate helps doctors take precise biopsies of prostate tumours. The system called ‘Uro Nav’, costing around £250,000, will improve the detection and differentiation of prostate tumours reducing the need to some men to undergo repeat prostate biopsies.
Mr Steve Garnett, Consultant Urologist and Urology Clinical Lead said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our patients this new system. The fused images help us to guide biopsy needles more precisely into a tumour. This will help us detect more precisely aggressive, potentially lethal prostate tumours and reduce the need for some patients to undergo unwarranted medical procedures if their cancer is slow-growing and not life-threatening.
“For the treatment of prostate cancer this is a significant advance for us. It’s rather like using a GPS to reach your destination rather than driving without directions. The fusion guided biopsy approach should help us reduce the number of repeat prostate biopsies, by giving us better information the first time around particularly for men with raised prostate specific antigen (PSA) blood test levels.”